ST.GEORGE`S:KraiggBrathwaite fell for a duck in his 100th Test as West Indies reached 110 for three in reply to the Australian total of 286 at lunch on the second day of the second Test in Grenada on Friday.

Looking to give the home side a solid platform on a two-paced pitch, the former captain`s mistimed drive in the second over of the day offered Josh Hazlewood a low return catch which the seamer gleefully accepted.

West Indies` second wicket also fell by the caught-and-bowled route, although it required Pat Cummins to sprint forward and dive almost to the forward short-leg position to come up with an excellent catch after Keacy Carty inside-edged a delivery onto his pad to offer the Australian captain the chance.

Brathwaite`s opening partner John Campbell continued to play positively to keep the score ticking along.

However, as so often happens with the Jamaican left-hander, he could not resist the temptation for the injudicious shot and an attempted lofteddrive at Beau Webster resulted in his demise for 40 via a simple catch at mid-on by Mitchell St arc.

At 64 for three, and with the memory of their second innings capitulation in the first Test in Barbados still fresh, West Indies found some counter-attacking resistance to the interval in the shape of Brandon King (39 not out) and captain Roston Chase (16 not out).

On Thursday. Travis Head`s demise shortly after lunch brought in Alex Carey to partner Beau Webster and, not for the first time in this brief series, it proved to be the turning point of the innings.

Less than a week after their second-innings effort in the first Test paved the way to a 159-run victory, the sixth-wicket pairing of Carey and Webster put on 112 to ensure that the Caribbean bowlers were again thwarted in pursuit of a swift demolition of the visitors` first innings.

Carey, as usual, was all positivity in a topscore of 63 off 81 balls, an innings highlighted by a six and10 fours.

Webster, who continues to impress in his first year of Test cricket, was more measured in his innings of 60,occupying 115 deliveries during which he struck one six and six fours, playing the sheet-anchor role through a succession of partnerships.He was eventually ninth out by the run out route, coming back for a nonexistent second run in one of his few errors of judgement in the course of his innings.

`It was pretty simple really: keeping the straight balls out and trying to score when it was a bit wider or too straight,` said Webster in talking about his innings after the day`s play.

`The wicket offered a little bit again so it was a really good effort to get the total we did.

Webster was full of praise for wicketkeeper-batsman Carey for the manner in which he took on the West Indies bowlers. `This series he has been fantastic and it`s been a pleasure to be up at the other end,` he stated.

`We would have loved to get 300plus and I`m a little bit to blame for not getting us there, but we have a really good bowling attack that bowls with lots of runs on the board and sometimes with not many to defend.

We back them 100 percent on this sort of surface.Alzarri Joseph led the West Indies effort with four for 61 while Jayden Seales claimed two for 45 in a bowling attack dominated by pace after left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican was omitted in preference for fastmedium bowler Anderson Phillip.

Rapidly fading light denied the Aussie opening bowlers a couple overs against the West Indies opening pair of Brathwaite and Campbell.-AFP